Existing embodiments of bicycle pedal dynamometers incorporate strain gauges in either the pedal body or pedal axle, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,433 (Hull et al).
In order to determine the torque or power applied to a pedal, it is necessary to determine the angular orientation of the applied force. However, in order to establish the angular orientation of the applied force, existing arrangements suffer from the disadvantage of requiring angular position transducers, such as a rotary potentiometer or an electromagnetic/optical encoding transducer. Such arrangements are therefore necessarily bulky, complex and subject to mechanical failure.